Story by George Sanzila
Geneva, Switzerland – Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Prof. Peter Katjavivi was honoured on Saturday (12/10/24) by the SADC Group of parliaments ahead of the start of the 149th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and Related meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.
President of the Southern African Development-Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), Hon. Roger Mancienne, presented Hon. Katjavivi with a Certificate of Distinction to honour him for his outstanding service to both the SADC-PF and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). He described Hon. Katjavivi as a dedicated proponent of regional integration and the transformation of the SADC-PF into a regional parliament.
In his valedictory remarks, Hon. Katjavivi thanked the SADC-PF, urging members of parliament to continue contributing to the forum to impact the lives of ordinary citizens. “It has been an interesting and very educative journey of close to 10 years as part of this dynamic organization, the SADC-PF. We will meet in Livingstone, Zambia, where I will formally bid farewell to you all. It has been a privilege to learn from each other and to contribute to our collective efforts. Let’s always remember the impact of our efforts on the lives of the people we serve”, noted the Speaker.
The current IPU Assembly will be his last in his capacity as Speaker. He is a long serving Speaker of the National Assembly and SADC-PF’s Executive Committee. He has played a pivotal role in the SADC-PF, being the host Speaker, and has continued to make contributions aimed at transforming the SADC-PF into a regional parliament. Hon. Prof. Katjavivi is also the Vice President of the IPU task force on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He will be retiring in March 2025.
